County approves veterans cemetery land purchase

The plan to develop a veterans cemetery in Redwood County took a huge step forward recently, as the Redwood County Board of Commissioners came to an agreement with a local landowner on a piece of land east of Redwood Falls.

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By Troy KrauseEditor

Redwood Falls Gazette

By Troy KrauseEditor

Posted Aug. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Troy KrauseEditor
Posted Aug. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM

The plan to develop a veterans cemetery in Redwood County took a huge step forward recently, as the Redwood County Board of Commissioners came to an agreement with a local landowner on a piece of land east of Redwood Falls. The piece of land, which is 63.26 acres in size, was purchased from Bob LeSage for $537,710. The county committed to utilize up to $1 million of its undesignated reserves for land purchase to ensure a veterans cemetery would happen in the area. The agreement does not become official until Dec-ember 2015, which allows the state to perform its due diligence on the land – ensuring it is going to meet its needs. According to Marty Cara-way, Redwood County veterans service officer, the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is going to do a feasibility study on the land to ensure it is adequate for the purpose of a cemetery, and he added the Minnesota Department of Transportation would need to visit the prospective site to ensure there is the capability for access to the site from TH19/71.

Redwood County had been on the top of a list of prospects and plans were moving ahead for the development of a veterans cemetery. Yet, after significant work could not result in a piece of land that met the needs, the project was dropped. According to Vicki Knobloch, Redwood County administrator, it was the efforts of Caraway that revived the project. Knobloch credited Caraway for his efforts to work toward accomplishing the project to this point. Eugene Longstrom was hired by the county board to help find a piece of land, and through those efforts the piece just east of Kibble Equipment was secured for the project. Should the state approve the site, the county would then donate the land to the state, which would then move forward with the multi-million dollar effort to develop the cemetery in the area. The Redwood area is considered an ideal location centrally set to serve a large group of veterans who in the future could utilize the cemetery. Federal dollars are also going to be used for the project. While the intent of the project is to honor veterans, the assumption is there is going to be significant economic benefit for the region because it is here.